Party at the Capitol!

Come celebrate the fact that one of the film tax credit bills is still alive (thanks to you!) by coming down to the WAM hearing on HB1590, HD2, SD1 (this is the official draft name; I'd been short-handing it by calling it HB1590, SD1) at the State Capitol tomorrow (Thurs, 4/7) at 10am in Room 211.

OK, so it won't be that fun, but the legislators would really like to see your faces. Your presence would send them the message that there are lots of people who care about the fate of our film industry.

It looks like the other film tax credit bill, SB541, won't be scheduled to be heard by FIN, which essentially means that the bill is dead. However, this is not necessarily bad news. Legislators often keep just one bill alive if there are companion bills in each of the legislative bodies.

So, while we say goodbye to SB541 (and to SB1304, the local filmmaker grants bill), let's celebrate the fact that HB1590 is still alive--one is better than none!

But don't get lax--it's not a done deal yet. If HB1590 passes out of WAM tomorrow, it will go to the Senate floor (the whole Senate) for a vote by Tues, 4/12. If it survives that vote, it will be punted back over to the House by Thurs, 4/14. The House will have a chance to agree or disagree with the latest Senate draft of the bill. If the House disagrees, the specific provisions of the bill get hashed out in Conference Committee (made up of members of both the House and Senate), and if we're lucky, the committee will reach an agreement and issue a new draft (CD1, or Conference Draft 1) by 4/29. CD1 would then go to both the House floor and Senate floor for a vote by 5/5. If it's still alive at this point, HB1590, CD1 will go to the governor, who can sign it into law or veto it.

SO...WHAT CAN YOU DO NOW?

1. Fax your testimony to WAM (see post below on how). The official testimony deadline was 10am today. Sometimes they accept late testimony, so if you missed the deadline, it's worth trying to fax it in anyway.

2. Come down to the WAM hearing tomorrow (4/7) @ 10am in Room 211. Since no oral testimony will be accepted, this hearing shouldn't last too long.

3. Call/email/fax the chairs, vice chairs, and members of the following committees to let them know you support HB1590. Contact each legislator only once (don't want to keep bug them excessively). Click to link to committee pages & contact info: Senate: MAT, WAM; House: TAC, EDB, FIN

4. Keep checking this blog to see what specific additional actions you can take to keep HB1590 alive and kicking.